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Special to NWjobs
SUZANNE MONSON
Recruiter Nora Raj, right, owner of Talent 20/20, a Seattle-area permanent staffing company, fine-tunes a resume for Aaron Allen during a recent meeting at a Lake Forest Park restaurant.
After six frustrating months of unemployment, Aaron Allen knows the hard way that jockeying for a new job demands getting on the inside track.
That’s why this sales executive is part of the pack of Seattle-area job seekers trying to improve their odds through employment agency recruiters — professional “matchmakers” to clients with temporary or permanent hiring needs. Most, like Allen, are reaching out to staffing services for the first time in their lives.
With Washington state unemployment rates at a near-record high, it’s no wonder recruiters are inundated by job searchers these days. Nora Raj, principal/owner of Talent 20/20 in Seattle, says colleagues at large placement firms tell her applicants’ calls and e-mails have more than doubled — to several hundred weekly — from the same time last year.
There is good news on the horizon. Even though the number of available temporary jobs nationwide recently sunk for the 24th time in 25 months, the Puget Sound area is “actually seeing the reverse,” Raj says.
“The trend for full-time headcount is decreasing locally, but companies still have to get the job done so they’re bringing in a lot more temporary workers,” she says. “That means there is a huge opportunity around here for contract work.”
Know the players
Check out VocationVillage.com for links to most of the nearly 175 general and specialty staffing and recruiting firms in the greater Puget Sound area. These include:
Contract agencies (aka temp agencies or staffing services)
Recruit and assign short-term workers for entry-level and higher-level positions with their clients, who are employers. Agencies typically pay contract workers an hourly rate. Employers pay fees to the agency for the workers.
Retained/direct-placement agencies (aka headhunters, permanent employment agencies or executive search firms)
Recruit and refer experienced candidates to employers for permanent spots. Agencies often coach candidates through interviews and any job offers, earning 10 to 35 percent of a placed employee’s anticipated first-year salary, paid by the hiring employer.
Corporate recruiters (aka internal or in-house recruiters)
Recruit workers to the company for which they work. Corporate recruiters typically work in the company’s human resources department as permanent or contract employees on set salaries with no bonuses.
Locally, temp stints in most industries last six months to a year; administrative and clerical staffing services, meanwhile, often are looking to fill roles for up to 30 days.
Job seekers should never pay a staffing agency or a recruiter, Raj says. Fees are covered by the employer or client. When hired for short-term jobs by a temporary staffing agency, contract workers get paid by the temp agency. In these arrangements, the temp agency makes its profit by keeping a percentage from the company that contracts with the workers.
Raj considers contract work a chance to “test drive” a job without the commitment. “People who have never been a contractor in their life are now open to the possibility,” she says. Raj praises job seekers like Allen who are adapting to these types of changes.
“Working with Nora makes me feel like I’m taking more ownership and being more proactive” in my job search, says Allen.
Christina Bauman, Bellevue branch manager for global permanent-placement firm Manpower, recommends that job seekers spend time researching how various agencies work so they can target the best recruiter for their needs.
She suggests catching a recruiter’s attention by baiting a resume with industry-important buzzwords. Be specific about duties and highlight performance successes. Agencies look for these points to make good matches. And be sure to act and dress professionally when meeting with an agency, Bauman advises.
It’s also important to network like crazy, Allen says. The best way to get the attention of an agency or get your foot in the door with an employer is through personal referrals. Tell friends and family you’re looking for work. Use leads from industry organizations, alumni groups, LinkedIn.com, Twitter and others.
Raj believes some of the rules have changed when it comes to finding a top match.
“If we weren’t going through a recession, I would advise my clients to be more selective at the beginning,” adds Raj. “But right now, it’s a numbers game, so I encourage people to cast the widest net possible at the start and pursue all leads before ruling anything out.”
By R Archambault on May 11, 2009 5:30 AM
This doesn't work. I had three different recruiting companies/temp agencies helping me - what worked was networking and slamming over 500 resumes out the door.
By LG on May 12, 2009 9:10 AM
I have signed up with over 8 agencies/recruiters and have NOT found them to find me anything. And they are more adamant about asking WHERE I've applied and WHO I spoke to - utilizing MY contacts basically. I even drove out to Everett to 'fill out paperwork' only to have the recruiter NOT even make a face to face contact with me. THAT is highly unprofessional and rude and a waste of my gas!
By B. Berry on May 12, 2009 10:30 AM
I too have used a recruiter and for the last few months, they seem to be only interested in my testing scores and finding out who I'm appyling with - just so they don't make the same contact I did. It's a game and we all know it. I have had great success with them in the past, it's just a different right now. It's also interesting to see they have A LOT of listings online and they haven't changed for the last two - three months.
By AJ on May 13, 2009 10:35 AM
I've used 3 or 4 recruiters, with the same experience, after meeting with them and finding out my previous contacts, they do not care to get back in touch. It was definitely a waste of time.
By Rod Mattson on May 15, 2009 10:43 AM
I agree with most of the comments on using temp agencies. They would not be my first choice and here is why.
First, it is true many do not charge you a fee; however, they find the job and charge the employer 18 bucks and hour and you get 10 bucks (figures quoted from a Renton staffing firm)
Second, nobody can sell yourself like you can, or have as high of an interest in selling yourself.
Three, you can make the same calls they do.
Four, once an opening is posted, you are pretty much out of luck and you are in the same pool as hundreds others. Make the cold calls and create your own luck.
Five, they send several of their clients to the same job.
Six, they are earning an income off of you even though they claim it is employer paid--see number one.
Seven, why spend time networking, vetting, and researching temp agencies? Spend that time researching places you'd like to work.
The article does state fairly that contacts are the way to go; but what do you say and how do you find the contacts?
For an excellent job search seminar that will produce much more that you expect, sign up for our 2 hour seminar on June 3rd at the Best Western Emerald Suite Hotel in Federal Way, WA. Details are on our website at www.MattsonCommunication.com
Why would you use a temp agency when you are off work and can do the same things they do. (I am sure all the temp folks will be angry with me, but it is true). Now if you are working or want to try different things and are too nervous to make the calls yourself, then by all means use them.
However, if you want to learn how to manage the nervousness and be able to organize yourself and make those calls, I can help you. I wrote a book on managing communication anxiety.
Take charge today and be responsible for your own job search, employers are out there looking for you, you have to find them. Let's do some serious fishing and make our own luck. We want to be prepared when an opportunity comes our way.
Rod Mattson
www.MattsonCommunication.com